{"id":217660,"date":"2025-09-11T07:58:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T07:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/217660\/"},"modified":"2025-09-11T07:58:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T07:58:13","slug":"boris-becker-picks-the-grand-slam-he-thinks-ben-shelton-is-more-likely-to-win-than-the-us-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/217660\/","title":{"rendered":"Boris Becker picks the Grand Slam he thinks Ben Shelton is more likely to win than the US Open"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Ben Shelton suffered heartbreak last time out at the US Open.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Entering the tournament full of confidence following his win at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/canadian-open\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Canadian Open<\/a>, Shelton looked ready to make a deep run at Flushing Meadows.<\/p>\n<p>Making a fast start, Shelton took down Ignacio Buse and Pablo Carreno Busta in straight sets to book his place in round three of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/us-open\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">US Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2231859399-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Ben Shelton reacts during his first-round win at the 2025 US Open\" class=\"wp-image-124905\" \/>Photo by Al Bello\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>There, he met the French veteran Adrian Mannarino, who caused <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/ben-shelton\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Shelton<\/a> problems right from the start.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately for the youngster, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/news\/adrian-mannarino-speaks-for-the-first-time-after-ben-shelton-retires-from-their-us-open-match-with-injury\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Shelton suffered an injury during the match<\/a>, forcing him to retire ahead of the deciding fifth set.<\/p>\n<p>Reflecting on Shelton\u2019s efforts in New York, tennis legend <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/boris-becker\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Boris Becker<\/a> has picked the Grand Slam he believes the American is more likely to win than the US Open.<\/p>\n<p>Boris Becker thinks Ben Shelton has a better chance of winning Wimbledon than the US Open<\/p>\n<p>During the latest episode of the \u2018Becker Petkovic\u2019 podcast, former Grand Slam semifinalist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/andrea-petkovic\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Andrea Petkovic<\/a> suggested who she believes will end Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner\u2019s Grand Slam-winning streak.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"inline-links multi\">\n<li>2024 Australian Open \u2013 Jannik Sinner<\/li>\n<li>2024 French Open \u2013 Carlos Alcaraz<\/li>\n<li>2024 Wimbledon \u2013 Carlos Alcaraz<\/li>\n<li>2024 US Open \u2013 Jannik Sinner<\/li>\n<li>2025 Australian Open \u2013 Jannik Sinner<\/li>\n<li>2025 French Open \u2013 Carlos Alcaraz<\/li>\n<li>2025 Wimbledon \u2013 Jannik Sinner<\/li>\n<li>2025 US Open \u2013 Carlos Alcaraz<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cI tell you, for example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/john-mcenroe\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">John McEnroe<\/a> said Ben Shelton, US Open 2026. I said Joao Fonseca, French Open 2027,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo I almost assume that next year everything will be won between [Jannik] Sinner and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/carlos-alcaraz\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">[Carlos] Alcaraz<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho else was there? Someone said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/taylor-fritz\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Taylor Fritz<\/a> 2026 at the US Open. So those were the names in the hat that were mentioned.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Becker was more inclined to agree with John McEnroe than Petkovic, as he commented on Shelton\u2019s Grand Slam-winning potential.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI see Ben Shelton being the next American Grand Slam winner,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has to learn how to play on grass. On hard courts, he can do it, but on hard, the competition is greater.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2223404971-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Ben Shelton in action during the 2025 Wimbledon tournament\" class=\"wp-image-110405\" \/>Photo by Marleen Fouchier\/BSR Agency\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere aren\u2019t any grass-court specialists anymore. That\u2019s why I actually see Shelton as a Wimbledon winner rather than a US Open winner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Becker believes Shelton has a better chance of winning Wimbledon than the US Open, but how has he performed at the events so far in his career?<\/p>\n<p>Ben Shelton\u2019s record at Grand Slams<\/p>\n<p>Making his Grand Slam debut at the US Open in 2022, Shelton has played 13 major tournaments in total, reaching four quarterfinals.<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, he\u2019s performed best at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/australian-open\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Australian Open<\/a>, although his records in New York and London are also impressive.<\/p>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Grand Slam<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Best performance<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>2025 performance<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Win\/Loss record<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Win %<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Australian Open<\/td>\n<td>SF \u2013 2025<\/td>\n<td>SF <\/td>\n<td>11-3<\/td>\n<td>79%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>French Open<\/td>\n<td>4R \u2013 2025<\/td>\n<td>4R <\/td>\n<td>4-3<\/td>\n<td>57%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Wimbledon<\/td>\n<td>QF \u2013 2025<\/td>\n<td>QF <\/td>\n<td>8-3<\/td>\n<td>73%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>US Open<\/td>\n<td>SF \u2013 2023<\/td>\n<td>3R<\/td>\n<td>9-4<\/td>\n<td>69%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<p>Ben Shelton\u2019s record at Grand Slam tournaments<\/p>\n<p>Winning 73% of his matches at SW19, it\u2019s safe to say Shelton is starting to get to grips with the grass courts.<\/p>\n<p>His defeats weren\u2019t embarrassing by any means either, losing to multiple-time Grand Slam winner, Sinner in 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"inline-links multi\">\n<li>2023 Wimbledon \u2013 Ben Shelton lost in <strong>2R <\/strong>to Laslo Djere<\/li>\n<li>2024 Wimbledon \u2013 Ben Shelton lost in <strong>4R <\/strong>to Jannik Sinner<\/li>\n<li>2025 Wimbledon \u2013 Ben Shelton lost in <strong>QF <\/strong>to Jannik Sinner<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Looking to cause an upset in this year\u2019s quarterfinals, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/news\/ben-shelton-left-stunned-by-jannik-sinner-in-wimbledon-quarterfinal-ive-never-seen-anything-like-it\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Shelton fell in straight sets to the eventual champion<\/a> on Centre Court.<\/p>\n<p>Shelton will no doubt return, hoping to make a deeper run next year, but won\u2019t want to get too far ahead of himself, as he still has a job to do in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Ben Shelton targets ATP Finals qualification<\/p>\n<p>The young American has yet to qualify for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetennisgazette.com\/tag\/atp-finals\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ATP Finals<\/a> in his career, but looks well placed to do so for the first time in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Shelton currently sits fifth in the \u2018Live ATP Race to Turin\u2019, having accumulated 3,710 points this year.<\/p>\n<tr>\n<td>Rank<\/td>\n<td>Name<\/td>\n<td>Country<\/td>\n<td>Points<\/td>\n<td>Status<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1<\/td>\n<td>Carlos Alcaraz<\/td>\n<td>Spain<\/td>\n<td>10,540<\/td>\n<td>Qualified<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2<\/td>\n<td>Jannik Sinner<\/td>\n<td>Italy<\/td>\n<td>7,950<\/td>\n<td>Qualified<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>3<\/td>\n<td>Novak Djokovic<\/td>\n<td>Serbia<\/td>\n<td>4,180<\/td>\n<td>Currently qualifying<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>4<\/td>\n<td>Alexander Zverev<\/td>\n<td>Germany<\/td>\n<td>4,180<\/td>\n<td>Currently qualifying<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>5<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Ben Shelton<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>USA<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>3,710<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Currently qualifying<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>6<\/td>\n<td>Taylor Fritz<\/td>\n<td>USA<\/td>\n<td>3,465<\/td>\n<td>Currently qualifying<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>7<\/td>\n<td>Alex de Minaur<\/td>\n<td>Australia<\/td>\n<td>3,145<\/td>\n<td>Currently qualifying<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>8<\/td>\n<td>Lorenzo Musetti<\/td>\n<td>Italy<\/td>\n<td>3,070<\/td>\n<td>Currently qualifying<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>9<\/td>\n<td>Jack Draper<\/td>\n<td>Britain<\/td>\n<td>2,990<\/td>\n<td>Not currently qualifying\/Injured for ATP Finals<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>10<\/td>\n<td>Felix Auger-Aliassime<\/td>\n<td>Canada<\/td>\n<td>2,705<\/td>\n<td>Not currently qualifying<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<p>Live \u2018ATP Race to Turin\u2019<\/p>\n<p>The 22-year-old will want to pick up some more points when he returns to the tour in Tokyo, for the Japan Open, which begins on Monday, September 22.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ben Shelton suffered heartbreak last time out at the US Open. Entering the tournament full of confidence following&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":217661,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[1479,21485,7936,62,1464,67,132,68,10118,2071],"class_list":{"0":"post-217660","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-atp","9":"tag-ben-shelton","10":"tag-boris-becker","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-tennis","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us","16":"tag-us-open","17":"tag-wimbledon"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115184606801468449","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}